Baby pants



Dec. 24, 1957 J. R. sLUssER BABY PANTS Filed Aug. 2. 1954 TIM/w74 51.0

JNVENTOR United States Patent O BABY PANTS Juanita R. Slusser, Pasadena,Calif. Application August 2, 1954, Serial No. 447,368 8 Claims. (Cl.12S-286) This invention relates to improved baby pants, preferably of atype adapted to serve as waterproof pants at the outside of diapers.

In using conventional waterproof baby pants, it is virtually impossibleto prevent the leakage of some moisture to the outside of the pants.This is due largely to the diiculty of maintain a tight t of the pantsabout the legs of the baby. Further, in attempting to prevent suchleakage, prior baby pants have been so designed as to almost completelyclose off all air circulation to the baby, with the result that the babyfrequently becomes chafed or irritated, and the mother may eventuallystop using waterproof pants of any type on the baby.

A major object of the present invention is to provide an improved typeof baby pants, adapted for use as waterproof diaper covers, and whichare capable of very effectively and positively preventing fluid leakageto the outside of the pants. At the same time, the pants are desirablyso designed as to afford a relatively open circulation of air to theinterior of the pants. Particularly contemplated are pants of this typewhich are adapted for very easy application to and removal from a baby,and preferably are themselves designed to carry the diaper, and hold itin proper position in use.

To prevent water leakage from within the pants along the babys legs, Iprovide unique slide fastener means at opposite sides of the pantsacting to adjustably and releasably fasten together the adjacent edgesof a pair of front and rear portions of the pants. The pants may includea body panel which is passed through the babys crotch and then upwardlyat the front and rear of the baby, to form the dened front and rearportions of the pants. The slide fasteners may then be adjustablevertically at the sides of the pants to vary the sizes of a pair oflower leg openings, and thus adjust the pants to t snugly about the legsof a particular baby. Each of the slide fasteners may include a slideelement which is movable vertically along a pair of elements beinginterconnected thereby, these elements typically being formed of aflexible plastic material. In this connection, it is felt that certainfeatures of novelty reside in the fastener structure itself,independently of its use in the present baby pants.

In order to allow air circulation to the baby, each of the slidefasteners is preferably so designed as to connect the front and rearportions of the body panel together at only the location of thevertically adjustable element. Above this element, the front and rearportions are unconnected, so that air may pass therebetween into theinterior of the pants. On the other hand, the pants are desirably sodesigned as to prevent water leakage from with in the pants outwardly atits side edges. For this purpose, I prefer to provide a waterproofelement or elements extending about the edge portions of the diaperwithin the pants, in a manner trapping the water in the diaper againstescape from the edges thereof.

The above and other features and objects of the present invention willbe better understood from the following detailed description of thetypical embodiment illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. l shows a pair of baby pants formed in accordance with the presentinvention, and illustrated in open position with a diaper positionedtherein;

Figs. 2 and 3 are sectional views taken on lines 2-2 and 3-3respectively of Fig. l;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the pants in the condition in which theyare worn;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken and Fig. 6 is a fragmentary perspectiveview of a variational form of slide fastener which may be in the Figs. 1to 5 form of the invention.

The illustrated waterproof baby pants include two superimposedpreferably identically shaped plies 10 and 11 of sheet material. Thouter of these sheets 10 is preferably formed of a protective broadclothor other fabric giving an attractive external appearance to the garment,but not necessarily waterproof, while the inner body ply 11 is formed ofa flexible soft waterproof material, such as a vinyl plastic sheetmaterial, preferably so selected as to be resistant to hardening,cracking, and/or other deterioration in use. In using the pants, adiaper 24 is folded to approximately the size of body plies 10 and 11and is placed on the inner of those plies and beneath a peripheralretaining element 12, following which the pants and diaper are appliedto the baby in the manner shown in Fig. 5. At opposite sides of thebaby, the front and rear portions of the garment are adjustably and re`-leasably attached together by a pair of slide fastener units, includinga pair of elongated fastener strips or track member 13, and a pair ofslidable retaining elements 14.

The two body plies 10 and 11 have a pair of parallel end edges 15 and16, which form the wastline of the pants when the two plies 10 and 11are passed through the crotch of the baby and then upwardly at both thefront and rear of the baby. The edge 16 which forms the wastline at therear of the pants is preferably substantially longer than the end 15forming the wastline at the front of the garment, with the two sideedges 17 of the body converging progressively from edge 16 toward edge15. As a result, the rear portion of the garment is substantially widerthan the front portion. Body plies 10 and 11 may be stitched togetherperipherally along the entire extents of their edges 15, 16 and 17.

After the garment has been placed in position about a baby, the frontand rear portions of the garment are releasably fastened together atwaistlne edges 15 and 16, as by hooks 19 attached to the rear portion ofthe garment at opposite ends of edge 16, and selectively connectableinto two series of `eye-s 20 fastened to the front portion of the pantsat opposite ends of edge 15. As lwill be understood, connection of hooks19 into ditferent ones of the eyes 20 allows for adjustment of thewaistlne dimension of the pants. Adjacent 4the ends of waistlne edge 16at the rear of the garment, the pants may include a pair of s'hortstrips of elastic 21, which .take up any looseness in the waistlne. Ifdesired, hooks 19 may be attached to the ends of elastic strips 21.

Element 12 preferably comprises a one piece sheet of material cut to`essentially the same external shape as body plies 10 and 11, andcontaining an opening 12a for receiving diaper 24. More specifically,this pie-ce of material may havey a rear waist edge `coinciding with andstitched to edges 16 of the body plies, and may have con vergingopposite side edges coinciding with and stitched to opposite side edges17 of the body plies. At the front 4waist edge 15 of the body plies,element l2 may be sewn to the body plies along a line 28. The opening12a is spaced inwardly from all of the edges 15, 16 and 17, so thatelement 12 forms strips of material adjacent the on line 5 5 of Fig. 4;

3 front, rear andV sides of the diaper, and adapted to overlie Vtheedges of diaper '2d when placed in posi-tion. At its four corners,`element 12 may be cut away angularly (see 114 in Fig. l) to a sizesmaller than the body plies, `so that the corners of the diaper may beexposed for pinning together by pins 27 when in use.

Element 12 is preferably formed of the same type of waterproof plasticflexible material utilized in making body ply 11. The previouslymentioned elastic strips 21 may be received between body ply 11 and theinner piece of material 12., both of these pieces of material as well asouter body ply 141 being adapted to pucker to allow for extension andcontraction of the elastic tabs.

Describing now the slide fastener construction, the strips 13 comprise apair of elongated flexible elements, typically formed of a flexibleresinous plastic material, such as a vinyl plastic. Each of these stripsof material 13 is of a length to extend along substantially the entireextent of a corresponding one of the side edges 17 of the body plies 14)and 11. Strips 13 have 'fiat sheetlike portions 29, which are .stitchedat 3u to and continuously along edge portions 17 of the body plies.Outwardly beyond their fiat attaching portions 29, strips 13 haveenlarged thickness portions 31 containing longitudinally extending track`recesses or grooves 32. The sliding fastener elements 14 of thefasteners slidably engage the enlarged track portions 31 of fastenerstrips 13.

The slide elements 14 are preferably of substantially the sameconstruction as the slide `elements utilized. in conventional slidefasteners. Each of these elem-ents may comprise a piece of sheetmaterial deformed to form a pair of parallel spaced walls 33,interconnected at 3d, and between which portions of the enlargements 31of fastening strips 13 are slidably received. For retaining the strips13 -to slide elements 14, the walls 33 of each slide element haveinturned flange portions 35, one of which is received within each of thetrack grooves 32 in the strips 13, to guide element 14 for slidingmovement along `strip 13. Preferably, the two inturned Itrack-engagingflanges at one side of each of the slide elements 14, converge towardthe corresponding flanges 35 at the opposite side of the element, asshown. rf'he usual handle tab 37 is attached to an outer side of each ofthe slide elements 1d, for moving it along the corresponding strip 13.

At one end 38 of `eac-h .strip 13, preferably the end adjacent the rearwaist edge 16 of the pants, the enlarged portion 31 of strip 13 may becurved into direct engagement with one of the pieces of Imaterial or 11and preferably to a location between these pieces of material, and maybe stitched or otherwise retained in that position to prevent movementof slide element 14 off of strip 13 at that end of the strip. Theopposite end of the strip is detachably connectable into lthe slidevelement 14, and for tha-t purpose the enlargement 31 of the strip is atthat second end spaced from the body plies, rather than curved intoengagement therewith. I find it best to have the lower enlarged widthend of each fastener element extending downwardly.

lIn using the pants illustrated in the drawing, the -diaper 2d is firstplaced along the inside of 4the pants, with the edges of the diaperunderlying piece 12. The pants and diaper are then passed beneath thecrotch of a baby, and the front and Vrear portions are pulled upwardlyat the front and rear respectively of the baby. The two front and rearcorners of the diaper at each side of the baby are then fastenedtogether by pins 27, following which the front and rear portions of the.pants are releasably attached Itogether by inserting the forward freeend of each fastener `strip 13 into the corresponding slide element 14,which slide element has previously been moved upwardly along the rearportion of strip 13 to va location near the waist edge 16. With both thefront and rear portions of each strip 13 within a corresponding one ofthe .slide elements 1d, .these elements may be slid downwardly intosubstantial engagement with the babys legs. This `constricts the size ofthe lower leg openings 39 to a size exactly fitting the particular baby.

Because of the unique formation of the slide fastener parts, theportions of fastener strips 13 directly above elements 14, and extendingupwardly to the location of hooks 19, are free of an interconnection, tothus allow free circulation between .these upper side edges of thegarment, and thereby prevent chaing of the baby. At the same time, the:piece of lmaterial 12 overlying the edges of the diaper prevent theleakage of any water from the edges of the diaper outwardly through theair circulation space between the upper side edges of the pants, eventhough this space is open to free air flow into and out ofthe garment.

`lt is noted that when the front and rear portions of one of thefastener strips 13 are received in fastening relation within one of theslide elements 14, lthe enlargements 31 of the two adjacent stripportions within the slide `elements may interengage at their adjacentsurfaces, to maintain these lportions of the strips in generallyparallel relation.

Fig. 6 illustrates fragmentarily a variational form of slide fastener,which may be substituted for the slide fastener shown in Figs. l-5.Specifically, the Fig. 6 fastener includes a sliding element 14aconstructed the same as element 14 of Fig. l, but coacting with tracks13a of slightly changed construction. Each of these tracks may be formedof an elongated strip of plastic sheet material 113, typically made ofthe same plastic as body ply 11, with this strip being disposed about aflexible cord in a manner such that an enlargement is formed at thelocation of the cord which enlargement extends along the side edge ofthe diaper and is slidably receivable in slide element 14a. The edges ofthe plastic strip 113 overlie one another, and are stitched to the edgeof the diaper continuously at 116.

I claim:

l. Baby pants comprising a body of sheet material adapted to be passedbeneath the crotch of a baby and having front and rear portionsextending upwardly at the front and rear respectively of the baby, andslide fastener means operable to releasably interconnect adjacent edgesof said front and rear portions of the body at opposite sides of thebaby, said slide fastener means including a pair of movable slideelements at said opposite sides of the baby, and means attached to saidfront and rear portions of the body near said edges and adapted to beslidably engaged and held by said elements, said slide elements beingvertically slidable along said last mentioned means and acting by saidvertical sliding movement to vary the sizes of a pair of leg openingstherebeneath, said slide fastener means being so constructed as tointerconnect said front and rear portions of the body at the locationsof the slide elements but to leave said portions unattached directlyabove said elements for air circulation to the body, and directlybeneath said elements for providing said leg openings.

2. Baby pants as recited in claim l, in which said means on the bodyportion engaged by said slide elements comprise elongated strips ofmaterial slidably interftting with said elements.

3. Baby pants as recited Yin claim 2, in which said strips of materialcontain track grooves extending therealong, and said slide elements haveprojections fitting into and riding within said track grooves.

4. Baby pants as recited in claim 3, in which said strips of materialare formed of a exible resinous plastic material.

5. Baby pants comprising a body of sheet material adapted to be passedbeneath the crotch of a baby and having front and rear portionsextending upwardly at the front and rear respectively of the baby, andslide fastener means operable to releasably interconnect adjacent edgesof said front and rear portions of the body at opposite sides of thebaby, said slide fastener means including a pair of movable slideelements at said opposite sides of the baby, means attached to saidfront and rear portions of the body near said edges and adapted to beslidably engaged and held by said elements, said slide elements beingvertically slidable along said last mentioned means and acting by saidvertical sliding movement to vary the sizes of a pair of leg openingstherebeneath, and additional fasteners retaining said front and rearportions of the body together at locations above said slide elements,said slide fastener means being constructed to interconnect said frontand rear body portions at the locations of said slide elements but toleave the portions unattached directly above said elements between saidelement and said additional fasteners, and directly beneath saidelements at said leg openings.

6. Baby pants comprising a body of sheet material adapted to be passedbeneath the crotch of a baby and having front and rear portionsextending upwardly at the front and rear respectively of the baby, andslide fastener means operable to releasably interconnect adjacent edgesof said front and rear portions of the body at opposite sides of thebaby, said slide fastener means including a pair of movable slideelements at said opposite sides of the baby, means attached to saidfront and rear portions of the body near said edges and adapted to beslidably engaged and held by said elements, said slide elements beingvertically slidable along said last mentioned means and acting by saidvertical sliding movement to vary the sizes 6 of a pair of leg openingstherebeneath, said slide fastener means being so constructed as tointerconnect said front and rear portions of the body at the locationsof the slide elements but to leave said portions unattached directlyabove said elements to provide air circulation spaces, and directlybeneath said elements for providing said leg openings, said body beingformed of a flexible Waterproof material and being adapted to receive adiaper along the inside thereof, and waterproof strips of exible sheetmaterial attached to and overlying said body along its side edges andadapted to extend over the edges of said diaper.

7. Baby pants as recited in claim 6, including strips of flexiblewaterproof sheet material attached to front and rear Waist edges of saidbody and overlying adjacent edges of the diaper.

8. Baby pants as recited in claim 7, in which said means engaged by theslide elements comprise a pair of strips of flexible plastic materialextending along and attached to side edges of the body and having traclcgrooves extending longitudinally therealong, and said slide elementshaving projections tting into and riding within said grooves.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 867,864Wright Oct. 8, 1907 2,141,105 Eller et al Dec. 20, 1938 2,575,163Donovan Nov. 13, 1951 2,632,220 Robinsohn Mar. 24, 1953

